Tax, immigration, pensions: right-wing French MPs list what they will support
Group also says what its 47 members will not support. It says it wants to ‘unblock’ the country from current political stalemate but will not form a coalition
The group says it will not support any policies which increase individual taxes, but is not against increasing France's minimum wage
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France’s new right-wing group Droite républicaine (formerly Les Républicains) has announced a list of measures that its 47 MPs would vote in favour of if brought to parliament.
Leading figure in the party Laurent Wauquiez announced an “emergency legislative pact” with 13 propositions that MPs in the party are guaranteed to vote for.
The measures revolve around three key pillars: security and immigration, strengthening public services / cutting down on bureaucracy and revitalisation of French industry / agriculture.
Specific policies include reduction on certain taxes levied on companies making products in France, a replacement of the ‘aide médicale d’Etat’ for foreigners living in France in an irregular residency status with a more restrictive ‘aide médicale d’urgences’, and a suspension of certain family benefits when children are found guilty of breaking the law.
Other proposals seek to curtail immigration, by bringing in measures rejected by France’s Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel) from this year’s Immigration Bill, although it is unknown which measures exactly the group wish to bring back.
The group also wants to see the creation of a “new social contract” in France, where “the value of work… is made an absolute priority.” It seeks for benefits to always pay out less than full-time working positions.
The pact also includes two major ‘red lines’ - increases to taxes and any law change that negatively impacts the finances of retirees and pensioners.
A law regarding either of these will immediately result in the group casting a motion of no confidence against the government, it said. However, the group is not opposed to an increase of France’s minimum wage (SMIC), which is currently €1,398.69 net per month.
“The country cannot wait. All the signs of France's accelerating decline are there,” said Mr Wauquiez and his counterpart for the group in the Senate Bruno Retailleau in a letter announcing the pact.
“The pact is an illustration that we do not want to block the country, but that [we are committed to compromise],” the two added.
‘Not a coalition’
The announcement has been made open to all groups in the Assemblée nationale, but in reality is an offer to Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition.
The right-wing group, which has 47 MPs under its banner, has been touted as a potential ally for the centrist group. If the two combined it would be the largest coalition in parliament and would have the opportunity to form the next government even if they would still not have an absolute majority of 289 seats of the 577 in the chamber.
Last week, MPs from the party were believed to have put their weight behind centrist candidate Yaël Braun-Pivet to be elected president of the Assemblée nationale in a secret ballot, further hinting at an upcoming alliance between the two parties.
Read more: French MPs reelect centrist as parliament president: what vote shows
However, the publication of the right-wing party’s list hints more towards a ‘confidence and supply’ agreement, where the group only votes in favour of legislation on certain topics, and otherwise will oppose the group on other matters, not entering into an official agreement.
“This [announcement] is not a government coalition and it will not be a government coalition. We are independent and we will remain independent,” Mr Wauquiez said.
“In view of what has happened over the past seven years, in view of the damage that Emmanuel Macron has done to the country, it is unthinkable for us [to form a coalition],” he added, saying MPs of the group would vote on a case-by-case basis of the laws brought forward.
However, Macron’s allies in the chamber will be keen for the right-wing group to sign some form of official agreement – without it, the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire is still the largest political alliance in the chamber.
In theory this places them in pole position to be approached by the French president and form the next government, however more than two weeks after the election the group still has not decided on who its prime ministerial candidate will be.
